NEW SECOND EDITION 2019, with 2021 Postscript
Winner IAN 2016 Book of The Year, Non-fiction/History
"A memoir that offers a rare, underrepresented perspective of World War II." -Kirkus
A true story of a Romanian family's miraculous survival of World War II, becoming refugees, fleeing their homeland, starving after the war, and coming to the United States to live the American Dream.
Life was full of promise for the young Maroscher family. Gustav was a teacher; Helene was busy rearing two boys and managing their small farm. The war changed everything.
While Gustav fought the Russians on the Eastern Front, Helene fled the advancing army to her sister's house in Germany. Danger and hardship transformed Helene from a shy young mother into a lioness; she once pointed an illegal pistol at the Nazi refugee camp director to save her younger son's life.
In the early years of the war, Gustav had helped a Jewish friend at considerable risk to himself. As a released prisoner of war, Gustav faced certain arrest after returning home. His friend, now the communist police commissioner, protected him. Eventually, though, his friend could no longer protect him, and Gustav fled to the West.
To reunite the family, Helene and her sons made a dangerous nighttime border crossing from communist East Germany to the West. After being reunited in West Germany they faced discrimination and hunger.
The family immigrated to the USA and embraced the freedoms and opportunities of America. Gustav became an engineer working on NASA's Moon Shot. Helene became an independent businesswoman. Their sons continue to thrive and enjoy their freedom.